The Upper Hand
by PFT
Summary: "What are you gonna do, kill me?" "No." "He is." And without waiting another moment, she shot the fox.


There was no way that those two were getting out of that pit.

Dawn Bellwether knew that she had the upper hand here. Frankly, it was a deep shame that Officer Hopps couldn't be of more use to her- things had been going so beautifully until she'd left the police force. And broke into her lab. And nearly killed the lab guys…

Dawn Bellwether however, liked to believe that she was the forgiving sort. Judy Hopps, however, had crossed the line. She and that Nick fellow had seen too much, knew too much, and now had an inkling of what she was up to.

 _No matter. Preds are biologically predisposed to act as… disposal units. She shouldn't have stayed so close to her downfall._

One thing that Bellwether had particularly enjoyed was how hypocritical Hopps could appear on the surface. She spoke as if she dreamed of a Zootopia where Preds and Prey got along- yet she had carried a can of "Fox Repellant" with her… every time Bellwether saw her after the graduation. And then her speech… that had actually gone better than expected, inciting anti-Pred riots across the city.

 _That stupid Gazelle and her "peace demonstrations!"_ she knew who the next target on that list was. _Pretty convenient of her to have 4 Preds surrounding her at all times._

"Well, you should have just stayed on the carrot farm, huh? It is really too bad, I did like you." _Maybe in another life, she could have become my apprentice, my right hand woman._

"What are you gonna do, kill me?"

This got her laughing, even if just a bit. _Hopps, you know what I have in my clutches._ "No."

"He is." And without waiting another moment, she shot the fox.

The Night Howler solution was never an immediate thing, it gave her a bit of time to watch the fireworks unfold… and get the ZPD in. She guessed that she had about 2 minutes once she had the call in to make sure that they didn't get it. "Yes, police, there's a savage fox in the Natural History Museum! Officer Hopps is down!" From her view, it was going excellently. Nick would soon be Hopps' worst enemy, and the pair would be easily disposed of.

"Oh, no, Nick! Don't do this, fight it!"

"Oh, but he can't help it, can he? Since preds are just biologically predisposed to be savages." _The beautiful truth, Hopps. You yourself said it at the conference._

A growl from the fox meant that the serum had worked. _About 20 seconds. Not great, but not bad. Make sure the boys up the dose for the next round, a tiger's a bigger target than a fox._

"Get back!"

"Gosh, think of the headlines! Hero Cop Killed by Savage Fox!"

"So that's it? Prey fears predators and you stay in power?"

"Yeah, pretty much." A shrug graced Bellwether's shoulders. _Not much more to be said on that front._

"It won't work!"

"Fear always works! And I'll dart every predator in Zootopia to keep it that way." _Your time is up, bun._

"Oh Nick... No..." Judy Hopps, former star cop for the ZPD, was up against a wall, her friend about ready to devour her. This pleased Bellwether to no end.

"Bye bye, Bunny."

And like that, Judy Hopps was no more. And soon, nor would there be a Nick… something or another.

* * *

She was in the seat of power yet again.

 ** _Unprecedented Fourth Term for Mayor,_** the headlines screamed at her. **_Bellwether wins on Pred-crisis record._**

The years had been fair to her. Aside from the police, most of the Preds in the city had been forced into shock collars. Even that wasn't enough, as the savagery continued. Prey had turned against Pred. What few were able to live outside the containment zone were regarded suspiciously and treated as third-rate citizens.

Of course, in their time of need, they turned to Dawn Bellwether, who won plaudits galore for her tough stance against Preds. The rather played-up execution of… Nick… Fox… (?) had helped carry her through the first election.

Judy Hopps died a martyr in the public's mind, Bellwether made sure of that. Shortly after, Gazelle was taken out, by her backup dancers (Oh she was proud of Doug on that one! All 4! Simultaneously!)- alas, she died a martyr only in the minds of the Preds and Equalists- everyone else thought she died protecting a set of false morals and ideals. From them on, her swath of "Savagery" cut through Zootopia against big figures who questioned her- yet it was wide enough that mammals were begging her to save them as opposed to asking why those who spoke out against her didn't last very long.

She looked down from her office into the atrium, where the fountain had added a statue of Judy Hopps- something that the public demanded of her all those years ago. She had been more than happy to agree on that- after all she did owe a part of the success of her plans to her. "Oh Judy," she said to herself, "If only things had gone just a bit different in the museum."

She swore that she could hear the diminutive bunny's voice even now, more than 15 years after she last heard it… _That hasn't happened in a daydream before…_

And then she realized.

 _That's not in the dream._

 _Oh Sh-_

* * *

In the end, she had been conned. Thousands of dollars and one of the greatest minds in the political arena! Beaten by a Con Artist, an ex-cop, 3 blueberries, and a novelty pen. Admittedly, it was all a blur, what happened in those 60 seconds.

In the cruiser, Dawn Bellwether, soon to be ex-mayor of Zootopia, thought about it. _I played my hand too early._ With a slump, she slouched on the seat, cuffs still firmly around her wrists.

 _This was not how this was supposed to go. And along with it, all the career that I had been building up._

She sighed.

 _It is going to be a long 20 to life._

 **A/N: Holy crud, its been 5 years since I last published anything. Hope this wasn't too rusty!**


End file.
